Has modern yoga lost its spiritual essence, or has it simply adapted to the needs of today’s society? History shows that its transformation began in India itself. But where does natural evolution end and superficiality begin?

In my previous article, I mentioned Swami Vivekananda, who spoke at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in September 1893. He addressed the audience with the words “Sisters and Brothers of America” and spoke mainly about Hindu traditions, religious tolerance, and spiritual unity. In his book Raja Yoga, he focused primarily on philosophy and also discussed Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In these texts, physical postures represent just one of the eight limbs of yoga. The others include, for example, ethical principles, concentrating the mind on a single object, and personal discipline. It certainly isn’t a sequence of physical postures.

Vivekananda himself, however, adapted his teachings in various ways to make them easier for his audience to understand. So when someone today claims that the Western world took traditional yoga and stripped it of its spiritual essence, the historical reality is far more complicated. Yoga was also changing in India itself, and Indian teachers played an active role in these transformations as they searched for new ways to introduce their traditions to the modern world.

One of the major promoters of yoga in the West was Pierre Bernard, also known as “The Great Oom.” He began running his center in New York around 1910, and yoga was becoming something people were willing to pay for.

Two important figures who focused on the physical aspects of yoga were Shri Yogendra, who founded The Yoga Institute in 1918, and Swami Kuvalayananda, who established the Kaivalyadhama Institute in 1924, where he studied the physiological effects of asanas, breathing techniques, and other practices on human health.

A major milestone in the history of modern yoga came in 1933. That year, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya opened a yoga school at the Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore, in what is now the Indian state of Karnataka, under the patronage of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. He had spent many years studying Indian philosophy, yogic texts, and traditional practices. He didn’t invent asanas, but he significantly transformed the way they were practiced and taught.

I was curious why Indians had “suddenly” become so interested in the physical side of this tradition, so I did a little digging.

In the 19th century, India was under British colonial rule. Part of the colonial ideology involved racial stereotypes about the physical abilities of different peoples. The British often portrayed Hindu men in particular as physically weak, passive, and insufficiently masculine. This image of physical and moral weakness helped justify colonial rule. Mark Singleton explores this subject in detail in his book Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a physical culture movement began to develop rapidly in India. Its supporters wanted to show that Indian men could be strong, disciplined, and physically capable. A strong body became a symbol of national revival and the ability to stand up to colonial rule. Traditional Indian wrestling, known as kushti, was gaining popularity, along with gymnastics and other forms of physical exercise. So one of the major influences was colonial rule itself and the Indian effort to challenge stereotypes about their supposed physical weakness. Of course, this wasn’t the only reason for the growing focus on the body and health, but it certainly played an important role.

Let me return for a moment to Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught yoga at the Maharaja’s palace in Mysore. The Maharaja was a great supporter of physical culture and strongly encouraged physical education connected with Indian traditions. Gymnastics and strength training were also taught at the palace. Krishnamacharya’s teaching developed in precisely this environment, where traditional yoga came into contact with modern physical education. His public demonstrations included demanding postures, balance, strength, flexibility, and body control. He also developed a dynamic connection between asanas and breathing. This was no longer just meditation while sitting still. It was a physically demanding discipline that could be demonstrated in front of an audience.

From this brief historical overview, it’s quite clear that yoga’s focus on the physical body cannot simply be blamed on the superficial West. This shift had already begun in yoga’s own birthplace. That didn’t mean the original philosophy had ceased to exist or that some “better” philosophy had replaced it. Alongside traditional approaches, new ways of practicing and teaching yoga began to develop. Another branch was growing out of the tradition, one that was better suited to modern people.

Art, whatever the style, reflects people’s lives and needs. If it stops evolving and branching out, it may eventually die out altogether. I highly recommend reading this article by Lalita Kaplish: Sun Salutations and Yoga Synthesis in India.

One of the first women to promote yoga in a form we would probably recognize today was Indra Devi, one of Krishnamacharya’s students, who opened a studio in Hollywood in 1947. Her students included some famous Hollywood stars. Another important figure was B. K. S. Iyengar, also a student of Krishnamacharya. In 1966, he published his famous book Light on Yoga, which became one of the most important guides to asanas. There have been many other yoga teachers and promoters, of course. By the 1990s, yoga had become a mass phenomenon, an absolute sensation.

With this brief look at yoga’s history, I’m trying to point out a few things. First, yoga had a physical component long before Vivekananda. Medieval Hatha Yoga already included asanas, breathing techniques, and other physical practices. So it’s simply not true that the West invented physical yoga. Second, modern postural yoga developed largely in India, but in an environment that had already been influenced by European gymnastics, physical education, and modern ideas about health. The exact nature of these influences is still being studied. Third, yoga didn’t suddenly arrive in the West in the 1960s. Lectures and practical classes were already taking place around 1900.

This also raises the question of what happens to a traditional system when it becomes something for the masses or a commercial product. When only the parts that sell well are taken from a complex philosophy, bodywork, and years of dedicated practice.

In the West, only certain elements of traditional Chinese martial arts are often selected and taught. Taijiquan, originally a martial art with a sophisticated system of techniques and principles, sometimes becomes little more than slow exercise for health. Yoga, meanwhile, becomes a fitness class focused on flexibility and physical performance.

I don’t think every change to a traditional system automatically means its decline. Traditions have always evolved and adapted to the needs of society. But there is a difference between a system evolving and gradually stripping away everything that requires time, patience, and a deeper understanding.

But is that really a loss of its soul? Or simply a natural adaptation of traditional systems to modern society?

Today, we have access to so much information. We can travel, seek out teachers, and dedicate ourselves to different practices. We have knowledge, information, and access to training, sometimes completely free of charge. So the question is how much we actually want to search for that soul we’re talking about. Or is it simply too much effort for modern people, who are happy to settle for an “instant noodle” culture — quick to prepare, quick to go cold?